Breast Damage Mitigation

ABSTRACT

A breast damage mitigation system including a bra, a strap, and at least one element that holds the strap in place over a top of a person&#39;s breasts when the bra and the strap are worn. The element(s) preferably include one or more loop(s), slit(s), or other elements through which the strap passes. The strap preferably includes elastic material, although inelastic material may be used. A fastener may also be included on ends of the strap, and a pocket that is closed by the fastener may also be included. Also, associated methods.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

-   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application    No. 62/398,426 titled “BREAST DAMAGE MITIGATION” and filed    22-Sep.-2016 in the name of the same inventor as this    non-provisional application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to articles and methods intended to mitigatebreast discomfort and/or damage that may be experienced by people,especially females, during exercise and/or other activities.

Description of the Related Art

Women often experience discomfort and/or embarrassment while exercisingdue to excessive breast movement, for example while running. Thisdiscomfort and/or embarrassment is particularly pronounced for womenwith larger breasts and/or implants. In addition, excessive breastmovement can actually break down breast tissue over periods of regularexercise and/or other physical activity. These matters are of seriousconcern to many amateur and professional female athletes. Many men alsosuffer this problem.

Some manufacturers have attempted to address the problem by makingsports bras out of an elastic material such as LYCRA®. However, theelasticity of those materials can actually add to unwanted breastmovement and therefore damage and/or embarrassment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is needed is an article that that reduces breast movement while aperson exercises and/or performs other activities. Aspects of theinvention addresses this need through one or more elements that areintended to reduce upward movement of a person's breasts. In someaspects, the system includes a bra, a strap, and at least one elementthat holds the strap in place over a top of a person's breasts when thebra and the strap are worn. The element(s) preferably include one ormore loop(s), slit(s), or other elements through which the strap passes.The strap preferably includes elastic material, although inelasticmaterial may be used. A fastener may be included on ends of the strap,and a pocket that is closed by the fastener may also be included.Aspects of the invention also include associated methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the subject technology.

FIGS. 2 and 3 further illustrate variations for a part of the embodimentshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates inclusion of a pocket that can be incorporated intosome embodiments of the subject technology.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one possible way of using embodimentsof the subject technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/398,426 titled “BREAST DAMAGEMITIGATION” and filed 22-Sep.-2016 in the name of the same inventor asthis non-provisional application including its appendix is herebyincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

Briefly, the invention is intended to reduce excessive upward breastmovement or “bounce” that may occur when a person exercises and/orperforms other activities. This reduction in movement is intended to beachieved by a system and/or method that should reduce upward movement byproviding support to tops of the person's breasts. When this upwardmovement is reduced, the “bounce” that inevitably follows also should bereduced. The invention is not limited to this brief summary.

The genesis of the subject technology is a realization that the “bounce”occurs on the top of a person's breasts. While existing sports bras andthe like support a bottom and sides of the breasts, they fail to supportthe top of the breasts.

FIG. 1 shows person 1 (depicted as a female, but the subject technologyis not limited to females) wearing sports bra 2 and strap 3. The strappreferably includes elastic material 4. The strap should fit across thetops of breasts 5, under arms 6, and around the person's back 7.

In preferred embodiments, at least part of strap 3 is sufficientlyelastic so as to ensure a close fit, but is also sufficiently inelasticso that the strap avoids contributing to movement of breasts duringexercising and/or other activities.

It has been found that having a sufficiently close fitting strap acrossthe top of a person's breasts provides great relief from excessivebreast movement. In addition, a properly elastic strap placed as showndoes not exacerbate the problem of excessive breast movement. This is incontrast to conventional overly-elastic sports bras.

Strap 3 also may include adjustable fastener 8, here shown fastened atthe person's back 7. Fastener 8 may be a hook-and-loop fastener (e.g.,VELCRO®), bra-type fastener, buckle-like fastener, any other form offastener, or some combination thereof.

Preferred aspects of the subject technology also include elements 9 onbra 2 that may secure and position strap 3 in a proper alignment. Insome aspects, elements 9 may be loops, slits, any other elements throughwhich the strap preferably passes. If loops are included, the loopspreferably are akin to loops used to secure a belt in place on pants. Ifslits are used, the slits may be reinforced. To the inventor'sknowledge, no other sports or other type of bra includes such elements.

While only one element 9 is shown, the implication of the figure is thatanother element exists on the other side of bra 2. However, inalternative embodiments, a single such element (for example between theperson's breasts) or some other mechanism for securing strap 3 in placemay be used.

FIG. 1 also illustrates that element(s) 10 may be included forsupporting a bottom of the person's breasts. Examples of such elementsinclude but are not limited to fabric and underwire support.

FIG. 2 shows strap 11, which may be used as strap 3 in FIG. 1. Strap 11includes preferably elastic material 12 and fastener 13. In someaspects, strap 11 is at least one inch wide at a portion that fitsacross tops of a wearer's breasts. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2,strap 11 has a uniform width. In other aspects, the width does not haveto be uniform. FIG. 2 also is intended to illustrate that fastener 13preferably is a hook-and-loop fastener. However, other types offasteners may be used.

For example, FIG. 3 shows strap 14, which also may be used as strap 3 inFIG. 1. This strap is an alternative embodiment of the strap shown inFIG. 2. The strap shown in FIG. 3 also preferably includes elasticmaterial 15. Fastener 16 for the strap comprises traditional fastenerssuch as those used for most bras.

In other embodiments, strap 3 may not be elastic. For example, the strapmay be made of an inelastic material sized or fitted for a particularperson.

FIG. 4 illustrates inclusion of a pocket into the strap shown in FIG. 2.Pocket 19 preferably is closed when fastener 13 is secured. A similarpocket may be incorporated into other versions of the subjecttechnology.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one possible way of using embodimentsof the subject technology. In step 20, a person puts on a bra. Theperson may put the bra on normally or somewhere else such as aroundtheir waist. Doing the latter may make use of the subject technologyeasier.

In step 21, a strap such as described above is inserted throughattachments in the bra. Alternatively, the strap may be pre-insertedthrough such attachments.

The bra and strap are arranged in step 22 such that the bra holds thestrap in place over a top of the wearer's breasts. Thus, “bounce” andtissue damage will likely be reduced when the person exercises orperforms other activities.

The invention is in no way limited to the specifics of any particularembodiments and examples disclosed herein. For example, the terms“aspect,” “example,” “preferably,” “alternatively,” and the like denotefeatures that may be preferable but not essential to include in someembodiments of the invention. In addition, details illustrated ordisclosed with respect to any one aspect of the invention may be usedwith other aspects of the invention. Additional elements and/or stepsmay be added to various aspects of the invention and/or some disclosedelements and/or steps may be subtracted from various aspects of theinvention without departing from the scope of the invention. Singularelements/steps imply plural elements/steps and vice versa. Some stepsmay be performed serially, in parallel, or in different orders thandisclosed herein. Many other variations are possible which remain withinthe content, scope, and spirit of the invention, and these variationswould become clear to those skilled in the art after perusal of thisapplication.

What is claimed is:
 1. A breast damage mitigation system, comprising: abra; a strap; and at least one element that holds the strap in placeover a top of a person's breasts when the bra with the strap is worn. 2.A breast damage mitigation system as in claim 1, wherein the at leastone element comprises one or more loops.
 3. A breast damage mitigationsystem as in claim 2, wherein the loops comprise loops akin to thoseused to hold a belt on pants.
 4. A breast damage mitigation system as inclaim 1, wherein the at least one element comprises one or more slits.5. A breast damage mitigation system as in claim 4, wherein the strappasses through the slits.
 6. A breast damage mitigation system as inclaim 4, wherein the slits further comprise reinforcement.
 7. A breastdamage mitigation system as in claim 1, wherein the strap compriseselastic material.
 8. A breast damage mitigation system as in claim 1,wherein the strap includes a fastener.
 9. A breast damage mitigationsystem as in claim 8, wherein the fastener comprises a hook-and-loopfastener.
 10. A breast damage mitigation system as in claim 1, whereinthe strap further comprises a pocket.
 11. A breast damage mitigationsystem as in claim 10, wherein the strap includes a fastener and thepocket is closed by the fastener.
 12. A breast damage mitigation method,comprising: putting on a bra; putting on a strap; and arranging thestrap in position with at least one element of the bra that holds thestrap in place over a top of a person's breasts when the bra with thestrap is worn.
 13. A breast damage mitigation method as in claim 12,wherein the at least one element comprises one or more loops.
 14. Abreast damage mitigation method as in claim 13, wherein the loopscomprise loops akin to those used to hold a belt on pants.
 15. A breastdamage mitigation method as in claim 12, wherein the at least oneelement comprises one or more slits.
 16. A breast damage mitigationmethod as in claim 15, wherein the strap passes through the slits.
 17. Abreast damage mitigation method as in claim 15, wherein the slitsfurther comprise reinforcement.
 18. A breast damage mitigation method asin claim 12, wherein the strap comprises elastic material.
 19. A breastdamage mitigation method as in claim 12, wherein the strap includes afastener.
 20. A breast damage mitigation method as in claim 19, whereinthe fastener comprises a hook-and-loop fastener.
 21. A breast damagemitigation method as in claim 12, wherein the strap further comprises apocket.
 22. A breast damage mitigation method as in claim 21, whereinthe strap includes a fastener and the pocket is closed by the fastener.